Pippin

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from Pippin at the Menier Chocolate Factory, but whatever i was that I subconsciously expected, this certainly wasn’t it. In this case, that’s certainly not a criticism however.

For some odd reason I thought it was a Christmas show appropriate for children and whilst there was a somewhat random sing-a-long in the first act (by the grandmother character named Berthe), that was where the panto comparison ended. Well aside from a couple of OTT characters. It also wasn’t exactly a children’s piece, though there were a couple of kids knocking about. The premise was intriguing, a boy playing a game, viewed from inside the game. It’s not exactly a new concept, but it’s not one I’ve really seen before. That said I’m not entirely sure I ‘got it’. It was interesting and I very much enjoyed it as a show, but I’m not sure I quite understood the overall point. If anyone would like to offer an insight, I’m all ears. My best guess is some sort of deep message about the fact that perfection doesn’t exist but love is as close to it as it’s possible to get. Also, don’t waste your life playing video games, but that might just be my skewed interpretation. All that said, I’m guessing it was meant to be rather surreal, in which case perhaps one is not meant to ‘get it’.

Anyhoo, as a show, I adored it. The set was fabulous, all concrete colours and green lasers. The outside of the theatre was set up as the boy’s bedroom, contrasting with the set rather nicely, dark vs light and all that. There was also a sensor at the door that made lasery sort of noises with a computerised voice saying ‘player enters the game’ whenever anyone walked in (audience that is, not cast). Silly and a little irritating after a while, but too cool to really criticise.

The costumes were even better, some futuristic, others reminding me of The Tribe (the tv show about the Mall Rats). Fastrada looked absolutely fantastic with a fishnet catsuit under a fancy crop top and a gorgeous multi layer skirt with a huge split. The silver jump suits the chorus wore really didn’t leave much to the imagination, though I found them oddly appealing. Though admittedly I was in the front row and the stage was less than a foot high – so my head was about crotch height. The choreography also included rather a lot of hip thrusting so overall it was a little distracting, I must admit!

The choreography was epic and probably should have made it higher up my list of awesome things about this show. It was Fosse-esque which I’ve always liked anyway, but it just worked really well, even though the eras seemed to clash completely. In fact, I think that might be why it worked so well. A futuristic computer game, set in the middle ages, with a (now) somewhat old-fashioned choreographic style. There is something incredibly sensual and seductive about the way they moved though. There was also the contrast between modern technology and traditional farm life.

The sound was a little off and I found it hard to hear the lyrics over the sound of the band, but the music was cool anyway. I’d like to listen to the soundtrack to get a better impression of it, really. One of the main songs (Corner of the Sky) that they played a few times was lovely though and I was humming it afterwards, well until the music in the bar pushed it from my thoughts, at least, and I ended up back in French musical mode (I’m getting into Adam et Eve at the moment and loving the two singles – which admittedly are the only songs I know).

The cast were brilliant, particularly the dancers, though I liked all the leads too. Harry Hemple was Pippin and had a wonderfully powerful voice. Matt Rawle was billed as the leading player (in the game that was the show), but I think he could also be described as the narrator in a way. I found it hard to understand him when he was singing, but I loved his acting and his dancing wasn’t bad either. There was something about him that I couldn’t put my finger on, but it kept him rather central in my attentions whenever he was on stage. Knowing me, it was probably the over-long hair. Ian Kelsey was the rough and ready Charles and he reminded me a lot of someone but I can’t recall who. I loved David Page as Lewis for several reasons, partly awesome costume related, but mostly skill as a dancer related. He had some great choreography. Frances Ruffelle was the step-mother, Fastrada, and she was suitably cunning. It was also awesome hearing her sing. I recognised Carly Bawden, who played Catherine, but couldn’t place her. According to the programmed she was Genevieve in the Umbrellas of Cherbourg, but oddly I still don’t really recognise her. Either way she was a magical dancer, particularly her solo routine that was part ballet, and she’s got a gorgeous voice as well. One of my favourites, I think. Other than that there were a few chorus members who really stood out for me. I thought Anabel Kutay was a stunning dancer, as was Holly James, though her involvement in Hair was enough to ensure that she’s catch my attention. I recognised David McMullan from Ragtime and I thought the way he moved was also brilliant. Finally Ben Bunce seemed to grab my attention whenever he was on stage. A big part of that was his the way he moved as well. He’s a tall guy, but the shapes he made with his body were so fluid, it was beautiful to watch (skin-tight jumpsuit notwithstanding). I did find myself watching his face a lot as well though. He was wearing a lot of make-up and I genuinely couldn’t decide if he was Tommy Joe gorgeous or nothing overly special. A stage door sighting later and I can confirm he’s really very nice to look at sans make-up. Just in case anyone was wondering. Probably horribly young though and I really don’t need another Charlie Hamblett (speaking of whom, he seems to have dropped off the face of the earth following The Tempest. Wonder what he’s up to now…)

Anyhoo, the stage door was far more successful than I’d expected, though I annoyingly missed David Page because I didn’t recognise him quickly enough – I was thrown by the hair, or lack of. Also, I’ve got a duff programme which doesn’t have Louise Gold in who played Berthe. She was (understandably) not happy, but I felt oddly responsible for drawing her attention to it. I’d have liked a picture with Matt Rawle but the timing was wrong so I didn’t bother. I did get one with Frances Ruffelle though. She was lovely and complimented me on my hair colour – it’s an odd shade at the moment, brown at my roots, with streaks about halfway down in the same colour. The pink is mostly faded, but there’s still a hint of it in amongst the brown streaks and the ends are blonde. It’s an odd fadey effect from root to tip that kinda reminds me of sunrise, but I do quite like it and apparently so does Francis. Go me. If only I’d done it on purpose .

Anyhoo, overall, despite my vague lack of understanding regarding the plot, I still thought it was a brilliant show with fantastic choreography, an awesome set design (and costumes), plus a fabulous cast. It’s an experience worth having if nothing else.

I was going to blog about last night’s trip to see Aladdin at the Lyric, Hammersmith, but honestly the less said about that the better. A brief overview of the evening, however, for posterity’s sake, is as follows; We got stuck in horrific traffic on the way back from Manchester and in the end we made it to the theatre with about three minutes to spare (fortunately, since we were literally front row centre). We ran the whole way from the car park and I then spent most of the first act coughing and wheezing. The woman next to me either out of irritation or kindheartedness took it upon herself to offer me a drink but just ended up spilling ribena all over my jeans. Fortunately it didn’t stain, but I wasn’t impressed. The show itself was, ummm, yeah. Not the best panto I’ve ever seen. That said, it did have its moments (several of which were clearly unscripted, but then you’d expect that of a panto) and Stevie Webb did make a damn good camp blue monkey. Why there was a camp blue monkey in it at all, I couldn’t say, but he did play the part very well. I also thought Abanazer (Simon Kunz) and Widow Twankey (Shaun Prendergast) were well cast. Stage door was reasonably successful in that I wasn’t really bothered about anyone except Stevie and I got my autograph and photo. I also bought my friend a monkey hand puppet (appropriately called Wishy Washy) and he made it into the picture with Stevie too. We were joking that I should always take a monkey for stage door pictures, but honestly it’s far too complicated. The programme, sharpie AND camera combination is already complicated enough without adding to it.

By the way, I’ve booked the first of many Hair on Tour (UK) tickets, front row for the Monday and Thursday in St Albans! All very exciting. At the moment I’m thinking two weekend trips to see it elsewhere, probably Birmingham and somewhere else, plus Tuesday and Wednesday in St Albans. For the latter two, I’m just waiting for a couple more people to buy tickets. At the moment they’re offering me exactly the same seat for all four nights and as wonderful as that seat has the potential to be, I do like a bit of variety. That said, I’d still like front row, ideally. Seems silly to pay the same amount for further back.

Anyhoo, I’ll keep an eye on it and see what happens. I need to get on with booking everything else before that anyway, between Paris and GILT, I really have enough to be arranging.

So with that in mind, I’d best get cracking, or at least get some sleep to enable a bit of cracking tomorrow!

Peace, loVe loVe and happiness,

K xx

PS. It took me about three attempts to type that sign-off. I’m typing on Steel on my way home and my thumbs have gone so numb I’m having real trouble pressing the right keys, or in fact, any keys at all. Ouch.

PPS. Oops, this wasn’t meant to be quite so long. Think I’m a bit out of practice!

Ghost

Awesomeness, thy name is Ghost the Musical. It may all have been smoke and mirrors, but they were used to fabulous effect.

I’ve been meaning to see Ghost since before it opened in Manchester and when it finally arrived at the Piccadilly Theatre in the West End I was determined to go straight away. For various reasons, it got put off until I finally panicked on hearing that Caissie Levy and Richard Fleeshman were off to open the show on Broadway in January. In the end I sent my friend out for day tickets (which he was more than willing to do given Caissie’s leading role). He managed tickets in the third row and, though rather far over to one side, they were excellent, especially given the price we paid.

Unfortunately, we arrived to find that Caissie wasn’t performing (and neither was Sharon D Clarke). We were both disappointed, though my friend a little more so than me. I’ll still try and see her before she leaves, but I, at least, won’t be too devastated if it doesn’t work out.

So, to the show. It was a gorgeous production, with a wonderful cast and a magical set. I also thought it was a fabulous interpretation of the film. I’ve not seen it in years, but I remembered enough to know what was coming up and enough to think that they were doing it well. The famous pottery scene was a bit short for my liking but they had plenty of kissing and other gooey moments to make up for it. For one, there’s a delicious make-out scene on the sofa right near the beginning that was rather enjoyable. I’d heard a few numbers before and I adore ‘With You’ (I think I actually cried the first time I heard it when they were first promoting the show) and ‘Here Right Now’ is also beautiful. I adored the way they incorporated ‘Unchained Melody’ as well, but I’ll admit the rest of the soundtrack didn’t make a huge impression. I think a lot of it was that I found it hard to hear the vocals over the orchestra, which was probably due to our seats. I’ll check it out on Spotify properly and I’m sure it’ll grow on me.

The set was spectacular, mostly made up of moving walls of lights that enabled dramatic set changes and set up some of the effects brilliantly. The effects, as I’ve already mentioned, were brilliant. For the most part, I think they were actually quite simple, but they really made the show. I don’t want to spoil any of it for those who may not have seen it, but if you’re interested, select the following white text to see which bits I loved the most!

When Sam disappeared through what had previously been a solid door in the first act, I think my mouth actually fell open. It didn’t really matter how they did it, or the knowledge that it was just a special effect with smoke and projections, it looked incredible. The other highlight for me was at the end, when he appears as if from thin air and disappears again the same way. It was beautiful and poignant and somehow magical without actually being so. I adored it.

Ghostly effects aside, I thought the subway was done really well and also the transitions between scenes were surprisingly fluid.

The cast were superb and I thought the understudies were fabulous. Richard Fleeshman reminded me oddly of my manager at work, which was somewhat distracting, but not enough that I didn’t fall in love with Sam over the course of the show. I thought he acted the part beautifully and he seemed to put heart and soul into his vocals. Philippa Stefani played Molly and she was also wonderful. Her voice is beautiful and I just wanted to give her a hug for most of the show. Da’Vine Joy Randolph covered Oda Mae Brown and according to the programme she’s going to playing the role when the show opens on Broadway, so it’s no wonder I thought she was fabulous. Andrew Langtree was marvelously believable as Carl and I both hated and pitied him by the end. He was almost the sort of character you find yourself applauding and booing at the same time when he takes his bow at the end. Finally, a shout out to Adebayo Bolaji who played the subway ghost. He was kinda scary, but fabulously dramatic.

The stage door wasn’t especially successful, though I got all the men I wanted (hehe) including Richard who looked far cuter in person than he did on stage. Sharon Clarke was there and I grabbed her, though she clearly thought I’d mistakenly though that she was performing that night (despite the fact she was on crutches). I didn’t, however, manage to get Philippa or Da’Vine which was rather irritating. With any luck I can catch them next time, but I suppose it’s not the end of the world.

Anyhoo, I absolutely loved it. I cried my poor little heart out and sniffled through most of the show (silently mind, I do my utmost not to be one of those irritating as hell noisy theatre goers). It certainly won’t be any sort of trial to go and see it again in an attempt to catch Caissie and I might even make another trip later in the year to see the new cast with the fabulous Mark Evans as Sam. To steal a term from Josh Lamon that I haven’t used in far too long, I thought it was totally dramagical and I highly recommend it. A stunning production throughout.

Finally, I heard a Ghost related quote that made me laugh so I thought I’d post it here, though I’m not sure where I got it from (if you haven’t seen the film or the show it could be considered a minor spoiler, though not really as it’s sorta of the premise that the entire plot rests on. Just in case, however, I’ve whited it out – select the text to read): “I don’t want to spoil it for anyone, but he dies at the beginning“.

And that’s me done for now. No more shows ’til Stevie Webb’s panto on Tuesday (which is aeons away, I know!) but the best bit is that I’ve actually got a whole weekend at home with no plans at all. I can catch up on blogging (yeah right, like that’s going to happen ), do some French studying, practice guitar, tidy a bit, bake my dad a birthday cake (he shares a birthday with Jesus, apparently), sort out what I’m going to do to best take advantage of GILT and maybe even book a trip to Paris to see Adam et Eve La Seconde Chance… (it’s a new addiction, I can’t help it!). Best of all, for the first time in nearly two months, I’m home for Friday night dinner and so is my mother… I can practically taste the chicken soup already! I probably shouldn’t be so excited by all of that, but I am and I can’t wait. Bring it!

Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah and/or Seasons Greetings to you all,

K xx

A Christmas Carol

I don’t think I’ve ever been so full of Christmas spirit in my life (for the record, I don’t celebrate it, so it’s not exactly unexpected that I’ve not been particularly Christmassy in the past!), but I have to admit I’m enjoying all the festive cheer. Especially given how sulky I’ve been about my recently obtained cold.

I thought Simon Callow’s Being Shakespeare was magnificent, so it follows that I would enjoy his latest one man show of A Christmas Carol just as much. I don’t actually know the story very well, having never read it (I think my knowledge of the tale mostly comes from references in Christmas specials on TV), but I knew the basic concept of Scrooge and the three spirits, which was quite sufficient (I studied David Copperfield at school and it quite put me off any desire I may have had to read Dickens. I’m now considering giving him another shot, however, at least enough to read A Christmas Carol).

I thought it was a fabulous interpretation, however, even if I don’t know the original work. I found it entertaining, engaging and emotional. I laughed, I nearly cried, I even jumped a couple of times and I left full of festive spirit. Simon Callow is a truly fantastic actor and he brought to life each character from Scrooge to Tiny Tim. It was a simple set, with a handful of chairs, a snow machine, a projected back drop and a large screen to help with scene changes, but used to great effect. The intimacy of the Arts Theatre (which I’d never visited before, but will certainly be returning to as soon as there’s another show on that entices me. It’s a lovely little venue) also made a big impact on the atmosphere of the performance.

I was debating with myself whether it was worth stage-dooring it, given that the last time I waited for him he took 40 minutes to come out and I have, obviously, met him before. I asked about the stage door when I arrived and was unsurprised to learn that it was through the bar, as expected of a venue that size. The fact that I could wait in the warm was a huge plus, but the usher did tell me that Simon Callow often took a long time to leave. On the one hand, the show was only ninety minutes with no interval (that man has some serious stamina. I don’t think even I could talk non-stop for ninety minutes!), but on the other, it meant I could be in bed before 11 if I so wished. I’m sure it comes as no surprise, however, to find that I did end up waiting for him, but he was out in less than ten minutes, so in the end it all worked out rather swimmingly!

Anyways, I thought the show was absolutely wonderful and I highly recommend it for anyone in search of a Christmas show that doesn’t involve singing and/or middle-aged men in dresses shouting “oh no it isn’t”.

So how else could I possibly sign off this post, but with…

G-d bless us, everyone.

K xx

Million Dollar Quartet

So Million Dollar Quartet was yet one of those shows I never quite got around to seeing until it posted closing notices. A lastminute.com deal later, I had my half price tickets booked and I finally made it to the Noel Coward Theatre (another of the Gielgud-esque theatres with that red and green décor. I don’t think all the Delfont Mackintosh theatres are like that, but most of them certainly seem to be. They still all bring back fond Hair-related memories, though, it’s nice ).

Anyhoo, I’m not a huge rock ‘n’ roll fan. I’ve barely heard of Carl Perkins (ok, I admit it, I’ve never heard of him…) and I know about two songs by Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Cash, but then I was really rather fond of Elvis in my teenage years. The songs I knew, I certainly enjoyed, and I’ve always been one for history, so the plot interested me, at least. It was actually a fascinating insight into the early careers of people who’s successes I’ve heard much about. It was a simple premise, based on one night of rock ‘n’ roll history, when four of its greats played together for the one and only time, in the studio where it had all begun.

The set is simple, the whole show takes place in the Sun Records studio, but then, it wasn’t about swanky set changes or fancy costumes (though the quartet’s jackets in the finale are really rather snazzy). This show was all about the music. The ‘band’ so to speak, was made up of a bassist and a drummer. The rest of it was all done by the actors and they played damn well too.

Ben Goddard played Jerry Lee Lewis and he was a frickin’ demon on the piano. It was fascinating to watch. I was less fussed for Johhny Cash, never having been particularly keen on him (the artist, I mean), but that certainly takes nothing away from the skill of the actor; Justin Brett. I believe I saw Oliver Seymour-Marsh in A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum, but the less said about that the better. He did a damn fine job of blocking that out of my memory tonight as Carl Perkins. I didn’t exactly have much to base my opinion of the character on, but he was incredible on the guitar and I thoroughly enjoyed his performance. My favourite was probably Kevin Mains as Elvis Presley, but then I think that’s mostly because I’m actually an Elvis fan, or at least I was once. I knew more of his songs and I had a better idea of what to expect from the character. I did think he was fabulous though. Bill Ward was Sam Phillips, another character I knew nothing about, but who I thought was very well played. Finally, Francesca Jackson played Elvis’ girlfriend, Dyanne. She was less pivotal to the plot than the rest of them, but she had a few of her own numbers and a lovely voice to go with them.

The stage door afterwards was reasonably successful and I got autographs and photos with the quartet. It was raining, however, so I left it at that. Justin Brett made me laugh though, commenting on how very rock ‘n’ roll it was to come out of the stage door with his groceries. The best bit, however, was when he mentioned he’d bought eggs because *puts on highly camp voice* he’s making muffins tomorrow. Perhaps you had to be there, but it made me giggle.

I had a good time at the show (which is saying a lot since it’s day one of my winter cold and I feel horrific. If I’d not been going out this evening I think I would have left work at lunch time and gone straight to bed) and I would recommend it to anyone with a fondness for rock ‘n’ roll. It’s not a very long show and there isn’t much of a story, but as I mentioned earlier, this one is all about the music. If you love the music, you’ll love the show. It certainly reminded me why I used to love Elvis so much.

Peace, loVe loVe and happiness,

K xx

PS. I will try my very best to get reasonably up to date with my blogs over the Christmas hols, so watch this space and apologies for getting so horribly behind! I’ve not forgotten the America Trip blogs either, honest!

Matthew Bourne’s Nutcracker

I’ve always been the queen of overdoing it with my various passions and tonight was no exception. First up was Matthew Bourne’s Nutcracker at Sadler’s Wells, something I’ve been dying to see for a very long time. I then had to hare it across town to my adopted second home (the West End) for Jingle Balls, another charity gig in the Delfont Room. Not content with that however, I felt I couldn’t possibly miss Matthew Bourne’s post-show talk either. Admittedly it finished around ten and I still had buckets of time to get to the Prince of Wales Theatre, but it was a very long, if highly enjoyable evening.

I do wish I’d been able to see the traditional ballet first, but unfortunately I’m not seeing the ROH version until the first week of January. I’m pretty certain I’ve seen it before, however, it was certainly a very long time ago and I have no recollection of it. I do have a vague idea of the classical story, but it might have been advisable to read it first, since all I could really remember was that a nutcracker comes to life at Christmas. Anyhoo, I still enjoyed it and I suppose I had the benefit of taking the show as it was without any preconceptions.

I hear that the traditional version begins at a lavish party, but Matthew Bourne set his reality in a Dickensian orphanage that put me in mind of Annie. All monochrome, the scant Christmas decorations merely emphasised the dreariness and the poor children’s excitement over their small presents. Things brightened after that, for the second scene choreographed as skaters on a frozen pond, though the colour scheme remained, only with more white luxury. I’ll admit I adored that scene, particularly the choreography and skill which made the dancers seem to glide across the floor. It was beautiful.

I’d forgotten how hot Matthew Bourne’s shows can be, however, and though this one was far less erotic than the others I’ve seen, it still had its moments. For example, I really rather enjoyed the transitional scene of the first act where Clara first meets her nutcracker (also known as the boy she has a crush on) sans doll mask. The scene, as well as being innocently seductive and romantic, also featured a host of male dancers flexing their muscles wearing nothing but skin tight white trousers and braces. Certainly my idea of a good dream, I can tell you that much!

The second act took place, for the most part, in Sweetieland and was full of bright colours and bonbons. The humbug gatekeeper was brilliantly comical and I loved the flamenco dancing licorice allsorts and rather greasy, if oddly appealing, knickerbocker glory. I also giggled over the marshmallow girls who just looked exactly like pink lemmings to me (though admittedly that was kind of awesome)!

The cast were superb. I think I saw Hannah Vassallo who played Clara in Dirty Dancing and I thought she was fantastic. A marvellous dancer, of course, but she acted the part beautifully as well. Christopher Trenfield, who played the Nutcracker, was also lovely to watch. I thought Ashlev Shaw was fantastic as Sugar, the daughter of the Orphanage’s owner and the way Daisy May Kemp, who played her mother, moved, particularly in the first scene was incredible. I mentioned before that I enjoyed the knickerbocker glory, who was danced by Adam Maskell, but I have to say that for me, the runaway star was Dominic North who played Fritz, Sugar’s brother. He was so in character, it was absolutely brilliant.

The Q&A with Matthew Bourne afterwards was rather interesting. I’m not sure how much I got from it on an intellectual level, but he kept my interest despite my exhaustion, edginess about leaving in time and the irritating as hell school group that seemed to have taken over half the second circle. They drove me insane, chatting throughout (though they were better in the second half when their teacher came to sit by me – I suspect the woman in front complained) and leaving noisily in the middle of the Q&A. So damn rude. Anyhoo, I did learn that Matthew is rather partial to a Toffee Crisp, so if anyone ever needs that information, I thought I’d record it here!

As for Jingle Balls, as stupid as I was to book in the first place (I can’t remember the last time I was so exhausted), at least Liam didn’t leave me hanging the way he did last time. All my delicious Les Mis men were right behind me at the bar well before the show started, though I didn’t even manage to catch Liam’s eye. Not that I tried all that hard, I still feel like a starstruck idiot whenever we’re in the same room.

Anyhoo, I still had an absolute blast. I have a proper soft spot for Scott Garnham these days (which I suppose is rather unfortunate since he understudies Liam) and I rather enjoyed seeing another performance of Christmas Secret, or whatever it’s called. Carl Mullaney was also epically awesome and has a truly spectacular voice. I have an extra drive to go and see Phantom now that I’ve heard Killian Donnelly (I never liked Fairytale of New York til this run of concerts) sing. The absolute highlight of the first act, however, was the finale – the cast of Crazy For You’s panto. I haven’t got a clue who any of them are, but it was frickin’ hilarious. And the one dressed as Louis Spence was rather cute too . Annoyingly, I’m absolutely certain I’ve seen the guy who sang Believe (from the Polar Express, I think) in something and he seemed lovely, but I can’t for the life of me work out who he is, nor did I catch his name.

I spent the interval anticipating the second act after watching the Les Mis lads arranging microphones and was not disappointed. My lovely Liam (I really need to stop being so possessive ) opened the second half with the Les Mis guys and it was worth every penny of the ticket and every minute of standing in the rain waiting for the bus home afterwards. Fra Fee also reprised his Christmas-Factor medley and I got to enjoy Scott Garnham again.

It was a good show and I’m glad I went *cough*Liam*cough*, but I think billing it as the ‘leading men of the West End’ was a little misleading. Other than Killian and the Les Mis lads (none of whom I’d really consider ‘leading’ except Craig Mather and maybe Liam at a push), I barely even recognised anyone (though admittedly there were one or two shows I’ve not seen, so I may be missing a few people off this list). That said, there was some fabulous performances and certainly some of them have the potential to become leading men even if they haven’t quite made it there yet!

Peace, loVe loVe and happiness,

K xx

The Railway Children

The Railway Children was never particularly high up on my priority list of must-see shows and I’m honestly not sure I would have bothered if a special offer hadn’t fallen in to my lap. Missing it, however, would have been a real shame. The experience alone was wonderfully novel, especially for a theatre obsessed person like me. The theatre has been set up in the part of Waterloo Station which used to house the eurostar and I’ve been here for that purpose several times before. The fact that I walked in humming French music with a strong urge to head back to Paris at my earliest opportunity was particularly disorientating, especially spotting the random old signs with French writing. Heading up the travelators (though they were off) to the platform (where the seats were) still decorated with the eurostar carriage information was rather nostalgia inducing too. I want to go back to Paris *sulk*. There is something kinda sad about the disused air of the majority of that part of the station, however. That said, it’s certainly one show that doesn’t lose out by having the constant sound of trains in the background. After all my trips to Waterloo East and Southwark, I never thought I’d actually appreciate the sound of trains interrupting the action!

Anyway, the show itself was really rather brilliant. I actually managed to finish reading the book in time, so much so that I finished it the other week and it seems quite faithful to the story. It’s narrated by the three children as though looking back on their lives once they’d grown up a bit and I thought that was a rather wonderful way of casting adults in the parts, while still maintaining the necessary illusions as they acted out their own parts in the story. The staging and the set were absolutely phenomenal and the real steam train was, unsurprisingly, a wonderful highlight, particularly when the whole thing pulled in, complete with carriages. The tunnel scene was also very well done, I thought.

It’s very obviously a family show and I actually found myself wishing that I was still young enough to appreciate the magic of theatre the way a child sees it. Still, it was quite fascinating to watch the way it was staged, with crew members dressed in flat caps and such, pushing blocks of stage up and down the tracks, giving the entire set an interesting fluidity.

I actually found it all rather emotional for some reason. All the veiled references to ‘Father’ (I’ll admit I was rather tempted by the pink ‘Daddy, my Daddy’ t-shirt they had on sale) really seemed to bring a lump to my throat and I was fighting back tears on more than one occasion. By the end I’d completely given up trying to contain myself and I was in tears even before anything much had happened simply from the anticipation of it. Admittedly, it’s a sweetly emotional story, but to have that kind of reaction to it, I must be rather more tired than I thought (which will, I’m sure, improve after a show and another charity gig into the early hours tomorrow night and a car journey to Blackpool on Friday. The Blackpool B&B had better have decent beds, that’s all I’m saying!).

The cast were wonderful, the three railway children were played exactly how I imagined them. Amy Noble was a perfectly proper Roberta, while Grace Rowe beautifully captured Phyllis’ childish charm. Tim Lewis was also fabulous as the somewhat stroppy, but essentially good-hearted Peter. Pandora Clifford played Mother wonderfully well and Mark Benton (who I certainly recognise from somewhere, but can’t for the life of me work out where from and I’m sure it’s none of the things listed in the programme. IMDB when I get home, me thinks) was brilliant as Perks with just the right amount of humour and dramatic performance to endear him to the audience and its multitude of children without losing any of the integrity of his character.

I considered the stage door afterwards, knowing how chaotic it could be with no official exit, as well as the fact that I had lots to do at home, and in the end decided to go for it anyway. Unfortunately, I was too busy writing this to pay attention and I’d missed half the cast before I realised. I did manage to grab a quick autograph off of Pandora Clifford and a piccie as well with Mark Benton. Weirdly, I bumped into an old school friend (and I mean primary school, I’ve known her a long time!) while I was waiting and chatted to her for a bit. Was very unexpected though! Especially since I actually spotted her on the opposite side of the tracks before the show, half recognised her parents as well, then convinced myself it couldn’t possibly be her! Tis a small world!

Anyhoo, back to the subject in hand, overall, I think it’s one of the best shows I’ve seen. Not in a Dracula-obsessed sort of way, but in a sheer brilliance way. The entire concept was wonderful and it was perfectly executed. I cannot recommend it enough, especially given the once in a lifetime sort of nature of it.

Peace, loVe loVe and happiness,

K xx

Goodbye Barcelona

I’ll admit I was a little averse to the idea of drifting so far off of my beaten track to see Goodbye Barcelona at the Arcola, but as it turned out it was only fifteen minutes on the bus from work.

The evening started off reasonably well, though I realised half way to the theatre that I’d forgotten to bring Jack Shalloo’s album (London Soul) with me for signage. That said, I haven’t really listened to it properly yet, so maybe I should save it for some future occasion when I can rave about how good it is and actually mean it (I have listened to it once through and it IS good, but I haven’t absorbed it enough to discuss it with its creator. The fact that I haven’t listened to it yet is purely circumstantial. With timings being as they’ve been, it’s just never made it high enough up the obsession list to get a proper listen. The same goes for Dougal Irvine’s Acoustic Overtures and I even invested in that!). Anyhoo, next time; album *nods*. I also spotted Stuart Matthew Price in the bar before the show which is always an exciting event.

The show itself was very good, though I think I could’ve done with something a little more cheerful! It was heart-felt, however, and very poignant. Set during the Spanish Civil War, which I knew nothing about prior to a quick read of Wikipedia before I left work, the show follows Sammy, an eighteen year old Jewish boy from England, driven by his ideals to journey to Spain and fight fascism. We watch through his hardships as he fights his way through the war alongside his English comrades and the Spanish girl he falls for. The musical switched from Sammy to the story of his mother, who followed him to Spain. The various characters all have their own stories, their own reasons to fight and people to fight for, but overall I’d say the musical was about love. A little romantic, maybe, but I’m feeling romantic. I don’t just mean love between two people, however, I mean the love of family, friends, country and freedom.

The theatre itself seemed quite an appropriate setting with its bare concrete floors, high ceilings and cold (dear Merlin in was freezing in there) brick walls. It reminded me a little of Parade at the Southwark Playhouse in that respect. As for the rest of it, the music fit beautifully, though it didn’t specifically stand out for me as a soundtrack I’d want to purchase and the cast were superb.

I went for Jack Shalloo, of course, who played George, one of Sammy’s fellow soldiers, and he was wonderful as always. Sammy was played by Tom Gill who looked oddly familiar, but I don’t think I’ve seen him before. Can’t put my finger on who he reminds me of though. A young Val Kilmer, perhaps? Anyhoo, he was very good and certainly a strong lead. Mark Meadows was also fabulously believable as the bitter old soldier Jack. Lucy Bradshaw palyed Lucy, Sammy’s mother and I thought she was wonderful, particularly opposite John Killoran as Ernesto. Laura Tebbutt sounded fabulous as La Passionaria, but I think the highlight for me was Katie Bernstein who played Sammy’s Spanish girl, Pilar. She was beautifully believable and her voice was gorgeous. She also reminded me of someone, but only a girl I went to school with many, many years ago!

The ‘stage door’ after was rather satisfactory. I decided against photos, but managed to get autographs off of the entire cast. Jack was friendly as usual and spoke to me briefly about what I thought of the show before going to talk to his friend. The ensemble all seemed to think it was quite a novelty, which always makes it seem extra worth asking them. Ifan Gwilym-Jones (who, let’s face it, is rather cute) seemed particularly chuffed and from what he said, I got the impression it was the first time he’d been asked. I almost asked for a photo just because he was so lovely!

Anyhoo, overall it was certainly a very strong cast and a beautiful show. I have to say, I do like my sad, poignant, meaningful musicals and who knows, if I’d been more in the mood for that than a French rock musical full of seduction and sex appeal I might have even more to rave about. It’s certainly a show I’d recommend and I hope it doesn’t come across as damning with faint praise. I enjoyed it (as much as one can enjoy something that leaves one in tears, questioning how the human race can get itself involved in so many bloodthirsty wars in the first place no matter how tempered the moral becomes with the nicer side of humanity), I just wasn’t really in the mood for it.

Despite what I said earlier, the Dracula thing is certainly fading, though slowly. I’m getting to the stage where I’ve over-listened to the album (which is far more annoying as I still know so few of the lyrics) and am trying to ease off listening to it, while still not really wanting to listen to anything else. I’m still loving the videos, however, and surrounding myself with cast photographs (in this case two desk top backgrounds and my phone’s wallpaper). Fortunately I’ve discovered a new obsession which sort of fringes on Dracula, or at least the same sort of genre; Mozart L’Opera Rock. Another French rock musical which is (fortunately, since I can’t afford another holiday any time soon) no longer showing but has been released on DVD. I suspect it won’t arrive until after Christmas now, but I’ve got the DVD/double disk CD box set on order and I’ve been listening to the shorter version of the soundtrack on spotify and soaking up all six music videos on youtube. I’ve not seen enough to judge fully yet, but so far I can’t get enough of L’Assasymphonie, particularly the way Florent Mothe sings the word ‘requiem’. Tingles ‘n’ everything, I tell you. I also haven’t investigated him much, but I think he’s probably rather cute underneath the scowls, weird hairstyle and stubble. The video of him performing the track on French TV certainly suggests he’s got a rogueish charm under all that hair (it’s the fringe, I think. It looks far too much like a comb-over)!

Anyhoo, I make no promises and who knows when I’ll even get around to posting this, but I’m going to try and go back to blogging a bit more regularly, even if I never catch up on all the missed shows. It helps that I’ve finished my immediate list of must-read books, so the kindle is getting a bit of a rest and giving me some time to blog on my way home.

Peace, loVe loVe and happiness,

K xx

PS. I mentioned lack of funds for weekends away, but I’m going to have to push it a bit further. Aside from the fact I need to start working out where I’m going to see Hair on tour, I also need to see the Phantom tour. I might have skipped it if it wasn’t for the fact I only realised today that I’ve officially missed John Owen Jones in the West End. I have no one to blame but myself and I was a muppet, but fact is, if I want to see him, I need to work out seeing him while he’s playing the Phantom on tour. In the meantime, I’ll just have to catch Earl Carpenter before he leaves in March (who I’d originally hoped to see on tour).

The X-Factor Final

So I may be a little worse for wear thanks to a little too much red wine for you my friend, red wine for you, but I have to admit I’ve had a fantastic day. Aside from oversleeping a little and being a bit late for lunch at my Grandparent’s, I then headed off to Wembley Arena for the X-Factor final. Now, I’m really not an X-Factor fan (I tried, I did, but really, I just can’t like it), but I will do pretty much anything for Captain Barlow and I’ve been watching some, if not all, of this series. When my friend offered me final tickets there was no way I was going to miss out.

I actually had far more fun than I thought I would. We were in the back corner of the arena, but the atmosphere was electric and Gary sang, so overall awesomeness was bound to ensue. It was also fabulous seeing some of my TT friends again. After such an awesome tour, it was a blast seeing them again.

The fun didn’t really start til afterwards, however. We headed back to my friends’ hotel and after a brief trip up to their room, we descended on the bar. Coincidentally, the runners up were also staying in the same hotel and a few of them turned up in the bar while we were there. I got a picture with Goldie (as a friend pointed out – she’s touched Gary, so certainly worth it!). She insisted I wrap my arms around her waist, then commented that I was shaking. I decided not to point out that it was a reaction to barely suppressed laughter! She then complained her mouth was open and I had to have another photo! I also got a pic with the ex-troublemaker from Nu Vibe who’s name I don’t actually know and, far more importantly, James Michael who I now have a ma-husive crush on. The man is GORGEOUS! He was also lovely about having photos taken and ducked down a bit to pose properly cheek to cheek. I also (after a glass of wine) asked for an autograph and he signed my X-Factor programme. I possibly shouldn’t have been so excited by this, but I SO was. He is bloody gorgeous and I’d have loved to be able to stay in the bar longer since he was sat at the table just across from us (and despite not really liking X-Factor at all, I wouldn’t have minded meeting a few other runners up – The Risk or some of the Overs for example). I knew I’d already missed last trains and such and I did have an offer to crash on the floor of my friends’ room, but I really need sleep, especially after Thursday’s Les Mis evening. In the end I caught a train to town and night bussed it home. Not as fun as it could’ve been perhaps, but sensible. Especially if I want to have any hope of doing anything constructive tomorrow, like learning some French in preparation for Dracula in Belgium or watching Strictly that I missed tonight.

Anyhoo, I could certainly get used to this drinking in bars with celebrities (whether A or Z-list) and here’s to another repeat next week in Blackpool with the Strictly lot (I’m really not holding my breath on that one, but I’m going to Blackpool anyway).

Peace, loVe loVe and fit guys who got kicked out of X-Factor in the first live show (possibly due to bad song choices on Gary’s part, but as Gary can do no wrong we shall assume it was just a random mistake),

K xx

Gary Barlow At The Royal Albert Hall

So, unfortunately, I often have trouble switching between obsessions and today was no exception. Ten minutes after leaving Gary Barlow’s show at the Royal Albert Hall I’m already humming L’Amour Plus Fort Que La Mort instead of Rule The World and I’m aware that tonight should have been a more spectacular event in my mind than it actually was. That said, I had a fabulous evening and there were plenty of highlights.

My seat was passable, but unfortunate. I was reasonably close, in the seventh row of the east choir, however, Gary had his back to me for approximately 90% of the show and as much as I enjoyed ogling his rather fine arse and watching his hands on the piano keys, I really would have preferred to look at his face. The most irritating part was knowing that there were better seats available that I couldn’t get my hands on because I booked through See and not the RAH directly. I also had a rather good view of the audience and I’ll admit it was a little frustrating to spot so many familiar faces in the front few rows. Anyhoo, seat issues aside, it was still a damn good show.

The highlights for me were unsurprisingly Forever Love (still my all time favourite and beautifully poignant live), Wasting My Time (one of my original 90s favourites and something I never dreamed I’d hear live), Pray (*clears throat* HE DID THE PRAY DANCE!!! TWICE!!! *ahem*) and, the most exciting part of the night for me, Lie To Me. After GB40, I was certain that I would never have the opportunity of hearing it live and even with our various song request campaigns, I didn’t really think he would sing it, even as part of a medley as he did this evening. The audience went incredibly quiet during that and I hope he wasn’t put off by it. I mean, I’m sure that there were plenty of people who didn’t know it, but I suspect there were a hell of a lot who did and we probably all felt the same; don’t ruin a once in a life time opportunity with pointless ‘we love you’ screams.

He sang a few big band songs which I enjoyed more than I expected. Under My Skin I’m not so fond of, but Fly Me To The Moon and Moondance were gorgeous. Apparently they were off of his new album ‘Swing When You’re Thinning’ (a reference to his increasingly noticeable bald patch – which still doesn’t make a blind bit of difference to his overall attractiveness level) . Other than all that, he sang plenty of the old classics (Back For Good), a couple of not so classic oldies (Nobody Else), a woefully small number of his solo songs (Open Road) and nothing at all off of Progress. I’ll admit I wasn’t expecting much and I knew Don’t Say Goodbye was a very long shot, but I was expecting The Flood at the very least. He did, however, sing Sunday To Saturday again. Personally I don’t get it, but whatever floats his boat!

Gary had a few special guests and I reacted somewhat unexpectedly. Lulu was first and her name had been leaked so it wasn’t much of a surprise even before he started singing Relight My Fire. Still, given I was never especially fond of the song or Lulu, since her stint on Strictly (and the fact that I met her briefly), I like her rather more than I did before. Next was Jason Donovan who I was also excited about and I was genuinely excited by his presence (and not just because he danced onto the stage!). He sang Too Many Broken Hearts, which apparently I know far better than I thought, and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it! Finally Olly Murs sang Shine, complete with Markiesqe hat and I’ll admit he was very good, though I’m still not a fan.

Gary finished with Rule The World and an encore (I accidentally capitalised that – too much Dracula, I tell you) of Never Forget. I love hearing him sing lead vocals on that and I’ll admit I also rather enjoyed his encore jacket – the black sequin one he wore in the Esquire magazine photo shoot (in fact, I like it so much, especially when he’s in this particular pose, I’m going to post it here…). I know a lot of people aren’t keen on it, but I find it unexpectedly attractive. The fact that it’s shorter than the other jackets he wore was also a plus since it gave me an even better view of that gorgeous arse of his that I keep going on about!

Anyways, luckily, I get to do it all again tomorrow and I’ll hopefully be able to see his face this time! Gary does have a rather tall order to fill if he’s going to keep my attention away from Golan and co. for long, however!

Peace, loVe loVe and hunky pop stars,

K xx